“It’s touch, and touch is good,” he said in a husky voice.
Why does your voice turn my entire body on? She pulled her feet from his lap and sat up, tucking them beneath her body.
“Let me do you,” she said.
“Why, Max, what kind of man do you think I am?”
She playfully smacked his chest. “Not like that. Let me rub you and make you feel good.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You naughty girl, you.” He went to a closet that Max hadn’t noticed earlier and withdrew a comforter, then spread it out on the floor in front of the fireplace. When he pulled his shirt over his head with one hand, all of her breath rushed from her lungs at the perfectly sculpted physique on the man she loved with every ounce of her soul.
He stepped out of his pants and lay down in his boxer briefs.
“This might be more dangerous than I had anticipated.” She was only half teasing. Did he really expect her to touch him without wanting to devour him?
He opened his hand and handed her a small bottle of oil.
“You just happen to keep this in the secret closet with the blanket? How much do you pay everyone to say that you don’t bring women up here?” Something told Max that she’d been had.
He turned over and pulled her down beside him. “I don’t lie, Max. I’ve never had anyone but Savannah here with me, and I slept on the couch, which is why the blanket is down here. The oil was something she left here.”
Kneeling beside him, she wished she could ignore the jealousy that was creeping into her body. “I’m supposed to buy the old only-my-sister routine?”
In the next second, Treat was on his feet and heading for the kitchen, where he retrieved his phone. He pushed a button and a few seconds later said, “Vanny, talk to Max.”
Max jumped up. “Oh my God. No way.” What is he doing? Mortified didn’t begin to describe the embarrassment she felt.
He held the phone out toward her with a wide grin. “Go ahead. I’ll never have anything to hide from you, and I want you to know it and believe it.” He pushed his hand with the phone in it toward her again.
She took it. “H-hello?” Her voice was thin and tethered with embarrassment.
“Max! Hey, girl! You found him! Did he call you?”
Max was surprised by Savannah’s enthusiasm. “No, I came to Wellfleet. He’d said it was his favorite place, so I took a chance, and he was here.”
“That’s fate for you!” Savannah laughed. “The last time I was there, he had to sleep on the couch. Hey, ask him if he ever found my apricot stuff.”
“Apricot stuff?”
“Yeah, he’ll know what it is. Apricot Kernel Oil.” This cannot really be happening. Max drew her eyebrows together and lowered the phone. “Savannah wants to know if you found her Apricot Kernel Oil that she left here?”
He grinned, twisting the bottle between his index finger and thumb.
Max stuck her tongue out at him, then covered her eyes.
“Yeah, he has it.”
“Oh, good. It’s great for aromatherapy. You guys should use it. It’s awesome, and it won’t leave your skin oily.”
When Max didn’t respond, Savannah filled the silence.
“That’s a little presumptuous of me, right? Max, I just figured that any girl who would track down a guy’s father to see him must be crazy for him, and I know he’s crazy for you, so…”
“Thanks, Savannah. I’m sure we’ll put it to good use.” She watched Treat lower himself to the floor with another victorious smile.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Savannah asked.
Oh, crap! Thinking fast, she said, “Um, oh, I wanted to know what Treat’s favorite dessert was. He won’t tell me and he said you knew.”
“He’s such a doofus. Tiramisu. Hey, I gotta run. I’m with Connor.”
“Connor Dean? You’re working this late?” Max watched Treat lay back down in front of the fireplace.
“Well, sort of. Glad you’re with my brother. He’s the best man on the planet. And I mean it, Max. Good to the very core. Love you guys; gotta run!”
The phone went dead, and Max followed the line of crow back to Treat’s side. She didn’t think it was possible that she could feel any stupider than she did at that moment.
“You can ask me anything, Max, and I’ll always give you an honest answer. And I’ll never blame you for not believing me, because I know people lie, but I’ll stand behind everything I ever say.”
What could she possibly say to that? He’d been true to his word with everything he’d ever said to her. He called his sister! She dripped oil onto his back and finally said, “I’m sorry for not believing you. But you have to admit, it did sound fishy.” She loved the feel of his slippery body beneath her hands.
“How do you know I didn’t have this preplanned with Savannah?”
Max’s hands stopped moving as she considered his question. She cracked a smile and said, “Because she’d never go along with it. She likes me.”
“How about because I like you, and I’d never go along with it?”
Swoon! She bent down and kissed his cheek. “That works, too.”
Max slid her hands along the sides of his spine, and then worked the tension outward, toward the sides of his body. She moved slowly, careful to cover every inch of his skin, to touch every muscle, and his appreciative moans urged her on. The more she touched him, the more she wanted to touch him. She followed the lines of his muscles up to the curve of his arm, kneading with a slow and steady rhythm, caressing her way up to his shoulders. She slid her hands over the crest of his muscles; then she slid her fingers forward, to the gentle dip on the other side.
He moaned in pleasure, spurring her on to the other side, where she allowed her hands to linger as she kneaded his shoulder and upper arm. The scent of the warm oil filled the room and heightened her arousal. His skin warmed beneath her hands, and she felt the familiar quickening of her pulse. Between his moan and the sweet aroma, she wished she weren’t wearing any clothes so she could slither her naked body alongside of him.
Wait. Wait. Wait. She closed her eyes just long enough to regain control; then she oiled his thighs and kneaded the tension from the massive muscles that twitched beneath her hands.
“Your touch is magical,” he said softly.
Max was concentrating on not feeling the pulsating sensation between her legs.
“Mm-hmm.” She slid her hands between his thighs and stroked them slow and hard. He opened his legs, and she moved in between them so she could work each leg with both hands.
Her chest constricted at the intimacy. How can he expect me to look at him lying there for the taking and not do more? She shot a quick look at Treat’s face. His eyes were closed, as if he were almost asleep. She closed her eyes and began kneading first the right cheek, then the left, through the thin cotton of his boxer briefs. She bit her lower lip. Every erotic touch made her hungrier for more. She was already damp, ready for him, and he hadn’t even laid a hand on her. To think she’d gone her whole life without ever touching or being touched in such a glorious way.
There was no thought to what Max did next. Removing her clothes and folding them neatly before setting them on the table seemed natural. The fire warmed her skin as she lowered herself to the floor and inched the waistband of his briefs down, then licked along the edge of the sensitive skin, just as he’d done to her at her apartment.
Treat’s responsive groan drew her up his body, her breasts grazing his slippery flesh.
“Max,” he whispered.
“Shh.” She kissed the back of his neck, allowing her tongue to linger on his salty flesh, before kissing his shoulder, and finally settling on the spot just beneath his ear.
He groaned again, drawing her in to deepen the kiss and suck harder. She slid her fingers around his biceps, pressing her hips against his. He tensed beneath her, and she slithered back down and straddled him, facing his feet. Goose bumps rushed up her legs to the edge of
her panties as he flipped over beneath her and grasped her hips. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on giving him pleasure rather than wanting him to pleasure her. She leaned forward, using both hands to knead the tension from his calves, ankles, and eventually, his feet, which were just as gorgeous as she’d anticipated.
He pulled her back with one quick movement and licked her through her panties. Max sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, silencing a moan as he used his fingers to move the lace to the side, then lapped her sensitive, wet folds. She closed her eyes and pushed up, arching above him as he pulled her deeper against his mouth, then slid two fingers inside of her.
She couldn’t think, could barely breathe, as she tightened around his fingers and pulsed against his incredible tongue. His touch was too much to bear. She shuddered against him, panting, riding the wave of her climax as he lapped and probed her, sending her higher than she’d ever been.
Without a word—she couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to—she moved to his side. The fire, and the ecstasy she’d just experienced, drew a flush to her cheeks. He reached for her and she shook her head, her eyes feasting on the heat trapped beneath his briefs. She didn’t question her newfound strength or the lack of embarrassment she felt. She felt herself owning the hasty desire that came over her, and she wanted to feed the feeling by teasing and taunting him.
“Max.” He reached for her again, and she moved away.
She rubbed the sensitive area just beside his hips. He sucked in air between clenched teeth, letting a sexy groan slip through. Max ran her hands hard and slow up his chest, then leaned down and circled his nipple with her tongue.
He grabbed her head with both hands.
“Uh-uh,” she whispered, peeling his hands away. “My terms,” she said.
He groaned again, and she kissed his neck. The sensation of her breasts grazing the curls on his chest sent them both reeling. Treat’s hungry groan mixed with her quiet moan as she licked his lower lip. “You like?” she asked.
She pressed her body against his. He reached for her, and this time she didn’t stop him as he pulled her onto him and kissed her until the taste of her disappeared and his whiskers scratched the sensitive area beside her lips.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he said.
“All touch is good, remember?” she teased.
The need in his eyes was tangible as he took her head in his hands and kissed her urgently, then eased to a softer, teasing kiss.
His slow, decadent kiss made her writhe with desire.
“Max, I couldn’t love you more.”
“That’s a shame. I was sort of counting on you loving me more each day.”
EVERY NERVE ENDING was on fire, and the throbbing between his legs had stolen the blood from his brain. He ran his hand along her hip; then the thought of how she’d been hurt stopped him cold. He pulled her tight against his body, feeling her precious heart beating against his own—the heart he wanted to protect and love.
She pressed her hips against him, and when he pulled back, just inches from her lovely face, he drew the hair from her forehead and kissed her above each eye. The longing in her eyes was undeniable, but their lust had rekindled the overwhelming feelings he’d felt for her the very first time he’d seen her. And now, reconciling the sweet, loving, provocative woman in his arms with the image of her torment, blood dripping down her legs, abused by some bastard he wished he could slaughter, stole that lust and replaced it with a desire to heal her heart—completely.
“Treat.” Max reached up and wiped the dampness from his eye. “What’s wrong?”
He buried his head in her neck, breathing in the scent of her arousal and feeling her sweet, tender skin against his. He had to pull himself together. Grown men weren’t supposed to get as emotional as he was over something that happened so long ago. But damn it, he wanted to heal her more than he wanted to satisfy his urge to make love to her.
“The thought of you, hurt down there…” He shook his head.
“That was a long time ago,” she said, running her fingers through his hair.
That intimate touch stimulated his heart to beat a little faster.
“Max, I don’t want to ever hurt you. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about sex.”
“It’s not,” she said with innocence. “It’s about love. I know that. I want to be with you.”
“I want to heal you,” he said.
“You will. You’ve already begun to. Just being able to accept and trust you in my life is a healing step for me. Just like I know it is for you.”
He kissed her cheek and laid his head against her shoulder.
“I listened when you told me about how you were afraid to love. This. Us. Being together. It’s as much a healing process for you as it is for me,” she said.
She kissed him softly, then pulled off her panties, and in one swift move she was beneath him. She arched her hips and he slid inside of her. She closed her eyes, and the sensuous smile that lifted her lips nearly punctured his heart. He moved slow and gently. Every stroke of her slick heat sizzled through him. He grit his teeth against the mounting sensation, holding her shoulders so every thrust filled her completely, and he felt her tightening around him as she grasped at his back for more. She bent her knees and he drove in deeper, then pulled out hastily. Shit.
Max’s eyes flew open. “What?”
“Condom.” Treat jumped to his feet. “I’m sorry,” he said as he bolted upstairs.
“Hurry,” she called after him.
He took the stairs two at a time, snagged the condom from his nightstand, then hurried back down. He came down on his knees between her legs, ripped open the package, and slid the latex on.
Max stifled a giggle. “Sorry. It was just so funny, watching you run upstairs naked.”
“You’re not doing anything for my manhood here,” he teased.
She laughed again, and she was so damned cute, naked and laughing, that he had to laugh, too.
Suddenly she stopped laughing and reached down to cup his balls—catching him totally off guard. She ran her fingers lightly over them until he thought he might burst. She came up to meet him.
“Love me,” she said.
He took her then with a hungry groan. She felt so good. He could feel her heat through the thin protective sheath.
“Faster,” she begged, meeting each of his hard thrusts with a tilt of her hips.
“Yes, yes…Oh, God,” she cried out. Her insides pulsed as she called out his name, matching his peak thrust for thrust until they both could barely breathe and their bodies shuddered and rocked against each other. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, and when the fire went out, the heat they generated kept them warm.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TREAT WAS ON his phone on the back deck when Max came down from the shower. A warm mug of coffee was on the counter next to a plate of waffles, complete with strawberries around the edges. Max sat beside the open window and watched the tide roll out. She loved his little bungalow, and the more time she spent there, the more comfortable she became.
She didn’t mean to eavesdrop on Treat’s conversation, but she couldn’t miss the frustration in his voice.
“I know I said I was sending an offer, but it’s off. I can’t move forward with it right now.”
She realized that the answer he’d given her about where he lived hadn’t really answered the question at all. She wondered if he had a place that he called home, or if the life he led really was one of traveling all the time. It sure seemed that way to her. She started when he pushed to his feet, sending his chair skidding across the deck.
“Cut it off. I’m done. No more acquisitions.”
Max froze, now intent on listening to every word.
“I’ve got enough goddamned money to last me two lifetimes. I don’t care. I’m done with it.” He paced. “It’s one property. Yes, I know it’s only three months, but I can’t spare three months right now.” He paused, obviously listening to w
hoever was on the phone. “I don’t give a damn who won’t want to do business with me after this.”
Whatever was going on had him tied in knots, and Max was certain that whatever it was, her showing up had spoiled his plans.
“Understood,” Treat continued. “I know it’s Thailand. Yes, I know what this will mean for my international business.”
Max shot a glance at him. Thailand? He’d been working on that deal when she first met him in Nassau, and he’d missed his flight because of her then. Oh, no. She couldn’t ruin his chance at something he’d worked so hard to obtain.
He ran his hand through his hair, pacing again.
“I’m changing things, starting now. No more constant traveling. No more acquisitions that consume all of my attention.”
As much as Max knew she should be flattered by what she was hearing, she was too conflicted to enjoy it. There was no forgetting the look in Treat’s eyes when he told her how his work provided the biggest thrill he’d ever experienced. She braced herself as he came inside.
“Hey, sweetness. You’re up.” He kissed her cheek, refilled his coffee cup, and sat at the table as though the tense phone conversation had never happened.
Max saw a shadow of worry behind his eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Fine, why?”
“Nothing, I just thought…Never mind.” More worries burrowed into the pit of her stomach. She was eavesdropping. She couldn’t come out and ask him about the conversation that now made her question the path her heart was taking her down.
He reached across the table and took her hand. “How much time do we have together? When does Chaz need you back at work?”
Don’t change your life for me. Change your life for me. Max bit back the conflicting thoughts and tried to remember what day it was. Wednesday. “I have to be back by Sunday afternoon, so four days. Treat, if you have to do something for work, I totally understand. Don’t let me hold you up. I can catch an earlier flight.”
He shook his head. “I just wanted to know how much time we had together.”
Max swore there was something hidden behind his smile, and she wrestled with letting him off the hook and making up an excuse to leave early. As much as it would hurt not to be with him, she knew that couples who gave up too much for each other only ended up resenting each other. In the back of her mind, she’d always wondered if that had been the thing that changed her ex-boyfriend. Since he was studying hotel management and could likely find a job anywhere, he’d agreed to move wherever she found a job in her field of marketing. He’d been prepared to relinquish any ideals he’d been dreaming of for his career in order for Max to follow her dreams. And then he ended up hating me for it.
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